Nuts & Bolts #58 - Atom Bomb Baby! Fallout 4 Cypher Edition (part 2)

Yeah. War "never changes" but the combatants do. So let's take a look at the things trying to eat your face. Since the Cypher System is so easy to "roll up" NPCs and creatures for I can it the high points and move onward without needing to dive deep for each line item. If a stat isn't given, it is calculated normally based on the Cypher System rules. All entries here are for a "normal" member of the species. In many cases there are tougher versions that look very similar which can be made easily by increasing the level and corresponding attributes.

Deathclaws are basically your standard genetic chimera mutated through elevated background radiation levels. Nothing special really. Oh, and they are the most badass killer in the wasteland. Basically just always, always, avoid these guys.

Always.

Level 8 (TN 24)

Motivation: As predators deathclaws attack creatures for food or for invading their territory.

2 Armor, Speed Defence to 7 due to size, Short Movement

Armor Rending Claws: Deathclaw claws not only deal impressive damage, but they can also bypass up to 2 points of armor.

Loot: Generally very little aside from meat which can be made into steaks that grant a +1 Might Edge for melee damage only for an hour after eating.

Use: Deathclaws can be used to ambush characters in the wasteland or by having quest objectives exist within a deathclaw lair.

Radroaches

What is there to say about Radroaches? They are everywhere, and while they are seldom a threat individually the certainly can prove a danger in groups. Radroaches are most dangerous for the radioactivity in their bite attacks that can weaken and eventually overwhelm even the most hardy of wastelanders.

Level 2 (TN 6)

Motivation: Scavengers looking for food.

1 Armor, Immediate Movement, can cling to walls and ceilings with ease.

Radioactive: Every attack from a radroach will deal 1 point of radiation damage even if the physical damage is negated by armor.

Increase attack to level 3 when attacking from above.

Loot: Radroach flesh can be cooked for sustenance. They tend to be found in ruins where items of value may be located

Use: Radroaches infest ruins and also find their way into settlements as they look for easy sources of food. A single radroach is little more than an annoyance, but a swarm can become a threat.

Radscorpions

If radroaches are radioactive annoyances radscorpions are radioactive nightmares. Heavily armored with deadly virilous poison that is also radioactive these giant insects are one of the wasteland's top tier predators.

Level 6 (TN 18)

Motivation: Insectile predator looking for a meal

5 Armor, Short movement, can burrow and travel underground

Radioactive: All attacks from a radscorpion deal 1 radiation damage in addition to normal damage.

Ambush: A burrowed radscorpion can pop up from under the ground and ambush prey increasing the difficulty of its attack by 1 level.

Loot: Radscorpion tails contain their venom sacs which can be harvested to use the poison on weapons or by certain people to craft various drugs with. Some wastelanders also eat radscorpion meat and eggs which have been known to provide a slight resistance to energy based attacks for an hour after consumption (+1 armor for energy only).

Use: Radscorpions are solitary predators who can be encountered in almost any part of the wasteland.

Mole Rats

What do you get when you take an annoyance like radroaches and give them the ability to burrow and ambush? You get mole rats, which are really annoying. Thankfully they also taste great! Probably.

Level 3 (TN 9)

Motivation: Scavengers looking for food.

0 Armor, Immediate Movement, can burrow and travel underground

Radioactive: All attacks from a mole rat deal 1 radiation damage in addition to normal damage.

Ambush: A burrowed mole rat can pop up from under the ground and ambush prey increasing the difficulty of its attack by 1 level. They often do this in groups leading to terrifying encounters.

Loot: Mole rat flesh can be cooked for sustenance which also grants a slight resistance to radiation (+1 armor for radiation) for an hour after eating.

Use: Mole rats mostly attack creatures that enter or near their lairs.

Supermutants are the result of the Forced Evolutionary Virus (or FEV for short) on humans. They are big, strong, tough, and often times dumb. They are also dangerous as heck. Probably second only to Deathclaws on an average basis. These are a good mid to late game menace as they scale well with individuals varying from "standard" to "brutes," "masters," and eventually "behemoths" that are progressively larger and more dangerous.

Level 5 to 9 (TN 15 to 27)

Motivation: Supermutants want to convert other people into supermutants by exposure to FEV. Also they have been known to make a meal out of ... anything it seems.

0-2 Armor depending, Short movement

Loot: Supermutants may use nearly any kind of weapon, from basic pistols and rifles to super sledges and Fat Man Launchers.

Use: Supermutants are sterile and reproduce by capturing humans to subject to the FEV. Supermutants also often take over key locations.

Feral Ghouls

Feral Ghouls are the result of ghoul degeneration as a result of excessive post-ghoulification radiation exposure. The continued exposure to radiation slowly rots a ghouls brain until eventually they are reduced to an almost animalistic state commonly known as feral ghouls.

Level 3 (TN 9)

Motivation: Mindless ferals that attack any non-ghouls.

0 Armor, Immediate Movement,

Radioactive: All attacks from a feral ghoul deal 1 radiation damage in addition to normal damage.

Blitz: Feral ghouls can make a short range movement at the start of a combat and immediately attack thereafter. The round following a blitz they are prone and cannot attack as they must stand up.

Loot: Feral ghouls often carry random bits of their former life. From ammo to teddy bears.

Use: Feral ghouls can be found most anywhere and attack any non-ghouls they encounter. They are seldom found alone, and are often found in packs of three to six.

Synths

Synths are androids. The oldest are crude and look more or less robotic, while the most advanced are bio-machines that are nearly indistinguishable from human. Appearance aside they are essentially human-like opponents, capable of wielding any of a variety of weapons and wearing armor. Instead of providing stats I suggest that you use the various NPC options in Chapter 17 of the Cypher System Rulebook with a single modification. I would add a point of armor on top of any they have to reflect the more robust nature of their artificial construction.

Mirelurks

Mirelurks are heavily mutated crabs. They are heavily armored, but slow. The

Radioactive: All attacks from a radscorpion deal 1 radiation damage in addition to normal damage.

Loot: Mirelurks rarely carry any notable goods but mirelurk meat and eggs are a good source of nutrition and have been known to contain trace amounts of stimulants that can grant +1 Speed edge for an hour after consumption.

Use: Mirelurks are quasi-communal predators who can be encountered near bodies of water, often protecting clutches of eggs buried in mud or sand.

Glowing Enemies

Glowing enemies come in many shapes and sizes; from the mildly alarming (at least after the first one) Glowing Radroach, to the downright pant-browning Glowing Deathclaw (seriously Fallout 4, that was not cool). Glowing enemies show up among normal members of Ghouls, Deathclaws, Mole Rats, Radroaches, Mirelurks, and possibly Radscorpions (I haven't seen one yet, but I expect it's only a matter of time). Glowing enemies add the following to their normal template:

Increase level by 1

Increase Health by 6 points

Add the Radioactive trait or increase the damage of the Radioactive trait to 2 points of radioactive damage

My friend +Jeremy Land suggested a couple of other ways to deal with radiation damage. I think both are even more dangerous, but they are cool so I'm including them here. All credit goes to him on these two methods:

Instead of reducing a single Pool's maximum by 1 (i.e. Might, followed by Speed, then Intellect), reduce each Pool's maximum by 1 per point of radiation damage.

Marc's Thoughts: This is obviously way more threatening, and may actually be better, but as GM you'd also need to make sure to provide more RadAway and/or more opportunities to use medical treatment to remove radiation to compensate.

Or, another way to do it is to add a Radiation score: Once it reaches your lowest Pool's maximum, you're always impaired; once it reaches your middle Pool's maximum, you're always debilitated; and once it reaches your highest Pool's maximum, you're dead.

Marc's Thoughts: This is fairly similar to the above, but with a little less bookkeeping. It's also very deadly, but maybe that isn't a bad thing. As above radiation removal would need to be more carefully doled out to avoid this being too deadly.

Next week I'm going to tackle 'bots and a few stragglers and odd-balls. In addition I can address any questions or comments that may come up to this or last week's post.